Bandits and Sea Bears jostle for playoff position in first leg of home-and-home

A pair of Western Conference squads will look to get back in the win column on Saturday night in a star-studded showdown.

The second-place Vancouver Bandits (10-5) will visit the fourth-place Winnipeg Sea Bears (7-7) at Canada Life Centre in the first half of a home-and-home.

The game is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT /5:30 p.m. PT streaming live on CEBL+ and TSN+ and is also available on NLSE in the U.S.

The host Sea Bears look to push above .500 and return to form after back-to-back losses. Prior to a 96-84 defeat against Saskatchewan on Thursday and an 80-73 loss to Montréal last Friday, Winnipeg found itself on a four-game winning streak.

One of those victories came against the Bandits, who enter Saturday’s contest teeter-tottering between wins and losses for the past seven games. Vancouver dropped a close contest with Calgary on Thursday after a decisive win over the Rattlers on Sunday.

The Bandits’ top-ranked offence and defence (in points per game) proved its worth in the 99-70 rout of Saskatchewan. However, Vancouver had to crawl back from 17 down in the second quarter and seven down in Target Score Time against Calgary only to see the comebacks squandered by a Jordy Tshimanga winner.

After the game, Bandits head coach Kyle Julius said the team’s performance was “not good.” The Vancouver bench boss will look for another bounce-back win in the third matchup with Winnipeg this season.

In the wake of the last meeting with Sea Bears on June 19, Julius cited a flat performance as part of the reason for an 88-84 loss.

Winnipeg star Justin Wright-Foreman went off for 32 points in that contest, including a deep game-winning three at Canada Life Centre. The Sea Bears limited each Vancouver player to less than 20 points, a far cry from the first meeting of the season at Langley Events Centre.

Wright-Foreman, the league’s top scorer in points per game, was tough to deal with in that contest, combining with then-Sea Bear Teddy Allen for 53 points. However, Vancouver’s stars came to play as well with Koby McEwen, Nick Ward and Tazé Moore putting together 73 points to lift the Bandits to a 112-91 victory. 

Moore led the way with a triple-double that included 35 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. The Bandits’ star has showcased his all-around game throughout the campaign and already has one of the most impressive regular seasons in CEBL history. He recently joined former Rattler Tony Carr as the second player in league history to tally 100 rebounds and 100 assists in the same regular season. Moore also has a chance to break Carr’s single-season assist record of 110 on Saturday with four more helpers.

Player Spotlight

A pair of new faces will look to make an impact on the season series between the Sea Bears and Bandits.

NBA-experienced Aussie Mitch Creek made his debut with Vancouver against Saskatchewan and netted 24 points to go along with seven rebounds. Creek will look to keep the offence flowing on Saturday as Winnipeg gets to defend him for the first time.

The Bandits will also have to deal with sharpshooting Scottie Lindsey for the first time this season. Lindsey has complemented Wright-Foreman with 13.3 points per game in four outings.

Milestone Watch

●     Winnipeg’s Alex Campbell is two points away from 1,000 for his career, regular season only

●     Winnipeg’s Campbell is nine steals away from 100 for his career, including playoffs

●     Winnipeg’s Chad Posthumus is one point and 23 rebounds away from 500 for his career in each category, including playoffs

●     Vancouver’s Ward is 31 points away from 900 for his career, including playoffs

●     Vancouver’s Ward is eight points away from the all-time franchise scoring record held by Campbell, regular season only

●     Vancouver’s Tazé Moore is two assists away from breaking Bandits’ single-season record held by Marek Klassen (108)

- CEBL -

About the CEBL

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 73% of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.